SEC charges Tampa-based crypto exec in $1M civil fraud case

The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused a Tampa-based businessman with fraud related to a cryptocurrency company he ran.

Alexander Elbanna, whose LinkedIn profile lists him as a Tampa Bay resident, founded Digital World Exchange, where federal agents say he engaged in a "fraudulent scheme involving unregistered offers and sales of crypto asset securities called 'DWE' and 'BPC.'" DWE is based in Tampa, officials say in court documents. 

Elbanna and one of his entities also allegedly made fraudulent private offers and sales of equity securities, the SEC says in a Friday civil court filing in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa.